Maine Logger Training Program Graduates Recognized

Upon completing an extensive 20-week curriculum, graduates of the Mechanized Logging Operations and Forest Trucking Program (MLOFT) were recently recognized at the Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) Alfond Campus in central Maine. Chuck Ames, President of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast (PLC), one of the creators of the program, attended the event and congratulated the graduates on completing the challenging program and on their decision to join the logging and forest trucking industry, where demand is high for workers as older workers reach retirement age.

“This is a difficult program, and you students should be proud of this achievement,” Ames said. “Our industry needs new blood and new ideas, and we are glad that you have chosen to be part of its future.”

The unique program was created in 2017 by three Maine community colleges, the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine (now the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast), and industry partners. Dozens of graduates of the program currently work in the industry, and demand for additional logging and forest trucking operators in Maine is high and projected to remain so for the foreseeable future.

This year, as in past years, a majority of students already have jobs waiting for them. Since the program began there have been more than 100 graduates, and 60% are still working in the industry.

The students spent this summer and early fall harvesting timber at an active job site in the woods on the KVCC Alfond Campus Farm, gaining hands-on timber harvesting experience and benefiting from the guidance of veteran logging instructors for an educational experience that is unmatched by any other timber harvesting and hauling training program in Maine and neighboring states. Students also received hands-on experience operating commercial trucks, loading log trailers, and gaining knowledge critical to forest trucking.

This year’s class is the third to have the opportunity to earn a CDL-A permit and receive preparation for the state driving exam. The project is funded entirely by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Visit plcloggers.org/plc-resources/equipment-operator-training/